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My dad (88 ) has become, a bit at a time, a pretty compliant BTDer, although he does not think of it that way--just tries things I suggest, and is a good observer of what works. (He eats almost no wheat and takes lemon juice as he sees a mucus improvement; uses turmeric for pain, etc.) (He lives in another state, a long way away.) His new physician has asked him to start taking Lipitor, because "the number of particles of cholesterol has increased--of two kinds." Doc thinks it good to stop a trend upward. I need to find out more (both LDL and HDL, maybe), but have never heard it described that way. Dad has just lost ten pounds over three months, deliberately, and this meeting with the doc was the three-month check in. I worry about loss of CoQ10 (dad takes some already--how much does one need to balance a statin)? Also don't like the idea of extra meds in a healthy 88 year old. He has Parkinson's, which at present is not moving quickly, i.e. he is pretty stable with a hand tremor. He also has some allergies. Otherwise, he's in great shape, exercises, etc. I was thinking a) he might not be getting enough dietary fat, given the diet (cereal at two meals, a regular meal for the third) and perhaps should add flax oil, more olive oil; and b) add 1 T leicithin daily. Advice welcome!

I'd like to tell your Dad's doc to take a hike ... increased cholesterol at his age is a likely a bio-feedback mechanism gone awry due to age http://search.lef.org/search/default.aspx?s=1&QUERY=high%20cholesterol%20aging ... Lipitor will have no effect and will likely do more harm. Increasing CoQ10 levels MAY be the best (with/without Lipitor) .... especially if tied to lecithin (Swiss Herbal).

John

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius

On turmeric, I did not read it, I learned from my yoga teacher who grew up in Pakistan, tried it once, and nver looked back. I once had to take a lot of "western" painkillers for acute thyroiditis, and promisted my liver and kidneys never again!

Also, to all, thank you for the suggestions for dad. He is trying leicithin, and may add other things. I called last night, and he said he was reading "that book you left around a few years ago--and I turn out to be pretty compliant." Thanks to all for the encouraging stories over the years about going slow (but steady) with one's relatives on all this. He now only eats garbanzo beans and one hamburger a week that are not on the list, and is open to shifting to black eyed peas for his hummus. The hamburger is sacred still, I think, but even that could change. It is only 4 oz.

THANK YOU ALL, and special thanks to the resting person who is communicating in hibernation, with excellent ideas as always.

Thanks, NHG, I do agree with you. The more I read, the more I think Dad is just suffering from low far (low EFAs), and we will start with flax oil and flax meal and more fish--and lecithin (turns out he is already using 1 t, will up to 1 T). Then we can reconsider--but since this has only come on since his low fat diet, I strongly suspect that attention there will make the difference. Anyway, thanks again to all! This board means so much!